Today Recife received the green light to start the construction of the Arena Pernambuco, in Recife, Brazil for the 2014 WC. The are cleaning the area and transfering the machines, the start are planed for next week.

I'm wondering why do all the Brazil 2014 Stadium renderings have such a big span between the seats and the pitch

ISG Brasil is the wholly-owned Brazilian subsidiary of ISG, based in Rio de Janeiro. After the announcement in 2007 that Brazil will be hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup™, ISG set up operations in Brazil and has been continuously evaluating opportunities to bring our global stadia expertise to the Brazilian market.

ISG Brasil brings together a team of dedicated professionals with a blend of local and international expertise in stadia, sales & marketing, financing, research and project management. We are working closely with the leading football clubs, football federations, construction companies, stadium operators, and many other partners, putting together consortia of world-class multinational and local companies to participate in public and private bid processes in the preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™. In addition to several ongoing projects which it is working on where construction has not yet begun, ISG has been named exclusive sales agent to the winning consortium in the bid for the new Recife Stadium. It’s an ambitious project that seeks to build a brand new, world-class stadium which will serve as a catalyst for further real estate development in the São Lourenço da Mata region, part of the Recife Metropolitan Area.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup™ is a unique opportunity for Brazil: to unify the world’s premier footballing nation, hosting the world's largest and most important sporting event; to showcase the rich culture of the country; to create jobs and stimulate economic development; to develop the country's stadium infrastructure as a lasting, sustainable legacy for the people, and thereby enhancing the development of Brazilian football in the long term; and to provide world-class stadium experiences for all Brazilian football fans.Link http://www.isgworld.co.uk/Brazil.aspx

First planned for the start of July, the construction work for the Arena Capibaribe, the stadium to be used for the World Cup in the state of Pernambuco, have not yet started. The consortium consisting of Odebrecht, International Stadia Group (ISG) and AEG Facilities is waiting for the clearance of the authorization license granted by the State Agency for the Environment and Water Resources (CPRH), which should be ready within the next few days.

The stadium shall be built in the city of São Lourenço da Mata (19 km from downtown Recife). Negotiations with the occupiers of the site of the arena have already been completed, and they have now left the location. The next step shall be the assembly of the work site.

The arena in Pernambuco shall be built by means of a Private-Public Partnership (PPP) and shall involve a total investment of R$ 464 million (€ 201.11 million). Around the stadium, the plan is to construct a residential complex with nine thousand housing units, which are part of the World Cup City project.

Including the stadium, the project shall have a total investment of R$ 2 billion (€ 866.87 million). It shall be executed by the Cidade da Copa consortium, responsible for the construction, operation and maintenance of the Arena Capibaribe for a period of 33 years.

With a capacity for 46,146 people and six thousand parking spaces, the stadium shall have a total built area of around 130 thousand m². The project was developed by the architecture firm Fernandes Arquitetos Associados.Link http://www.copa2014.org.br/en/news/4...APIBARIBE.html